page_title: Kardashev scale
section_title: Type I civilization methods
hierarchical_section_title: Kardashev scale / Energy development / Type I civilization methods
caption_attribution_description: An illustration of a relatively simple arrangement of multiple Dyson rings in a more complex form of the Dyson swarm. To scale. Sun is accurately colored according to spectral type. Ring orbital radii are spaced 1.5 × 107&#160;km from one another, although the average orbital radius is 1 AU. Collectors are 1.0 × 107&#160;km in diameter, or ~25 times the distance between the Earth and the Moon. Collectors are spaced 3° from midpoint to midpoint, around the orbital circle. Camera perspective is from a point ~2.8&#160;AU from the Sun. Rings are rotated 15° relative to one another, around a common axis of rotation.
context_page_description: The Kardashev scale is a method of measuring a civilization's level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy they are able to use. The measure was proposed by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964. The scale has three designated categories:
  A Type I civilization, also called a planetary civilization—can use and store all of the energy available on its planet.
  A Type II civilization, also called a stellar civilization—can use and control energy at the scale of its planetary system.
  A Type III civilization, also called a galactic civilization—can control energy at the scale of its entire host galaxy.
context_section_description: Large-scale application of fusion power. According to mass–energy equivalence, Type I implies the conversion of about 2 kg of matter to energy per second. An equivalent energy release could theoretically be achieved by fusing approximately 280 kg of hydrogen into helium per second, a rate roughly equivalent to 8.9×10⁹ kg/year. A cubic km of water contains about 10¹¹ kg of hydrogen, and the Earth's oceans contain about 1.3×10⁹ cubic km of water, meaning that humans on Earth could sustain this rate of consumption over geological time-scales, in terms of available hydrogen.
  Antimatter in large quantities would have a mechanism to produce power on a scale several magnitudes above the current level of technology. In antimatter-matter collisions, the entire rest mass of the particles is converted to radiant energy. Their energy density (energy released per mass) is about four orders of magnitude greater than that from using nuclear fission, and about two orders of magnitude greater than the best possible yield from fusion. The reaction of 1 kg of anti-matter with 1 kg of matter would produce 1.8×10¹⁷ J (180 petajoules) of energy. Although antimatter is sometimes proposed as a source of energy, this does not appear feasible. Artificially producing antimatter—according to current understanding of the laws of physics—involves first converting energy into mass, which yields no net energy. Artificially created antimatter is only usable as a medium of energy storage, not as an energy source, unless future technological developments (contrary to the conservation of the baryon number, such as a CP violation in favour of antimatter) allow the conversion of ordinary matter into anti-matter. Theoretically, humans may in the future have the capability to cultivate and harvest a number of naturally occurring sources of antimatter.
  Renewable energy through converting sunlight into electricity—either by using solar cells and concentrating solar power or indirectly through biofuel, wind and hydroelectric power. There is no known way for human civilization to use the equivalent of the Earth's total absorbed solar energy without completely coating the surface with human-made structures, which is not feasible with current technology. However, if a civilization constructed very large space-based solar power satellites, Type I power levels might become achievable—these could convert sunlight to microwave power and beam that to collectors on Earth.
caption: Figure of a Dyson swarm surrounding a star
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